David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is a real frustration out there with the roll-out of the vaccine. The Minister has accepted and acknowledged some of that frustration. That frustration is understandable. Nobody in this Chamber can say that the roll-out so far has been as efficient as we would have wanted it to be. It is falling short of people's reasonable expectations.

We have had real problems on the supply side and the head of the HSE said that it is the responsibility of the Department of Health and the Minister for Health to sort out problems on the supply side and to bolster supply. Time and again we have been left short by AstraZeneca and it simply is not good enough. We are not being given reasonable answers as to why that is happening on an ongoing basis and it is completely unacceptable. We had a target set for 1.7 million doses to arrive in the first quarter of this year. That target was reduced down to 1.4 million, then 1.25 million and now it has been reduced to 1.1 million. That is hundreds of thousands of doses of vaccines which have not arrived. If they had, people would have been vaccinated at the end of this month or at least have got their first shot but now they will not. Problems on the supply side have consequences for the roll-out of the vaccine and for citizens of this State.

We also have problems on the administration side, which is the direct responsibility of the HSE and which falls under the Minister's purview. We saw problems last week where some GPs did not get their vaccines on time and some did not get them at all. We have also had cases where some GPs have not got equipment and one surgery got a box of leaflets rather than a box of vaccines. We have had multiple examples in recent days of surgeries being left short in their supply, ranging from 15% to 50% of a shortfall, and having to call elderly patients and tell them that their vaccine is not there and they cannot be vaccinated. It is heartbreaking for the GPs and for the people who are expecting to be vaccinated.

I appeal to the Minister to do more to fix the problems, bolster supply and learn the lessons that should have been learned when we saw the problems that have materialised in recent weeks. People expect better and they want a more efficient roll-out. They want a safe, speedy and efficient roll-out of the vaccine and they simply do not see it happening. I appeal to the Minister to fix those problems that are under his control as quickly as he can.

I want to put a number of questions to the Minister. He said in his opening statement that the missing of targets is the responsibility of AstraZeneca and that it has left us short.

I ask the Minister to be as brief as he can on this and answer the question directly. How many times has AstraZeneca left us short? What is the total amount we expected from AstraZeneca and what did we get? He said that on numerous occasions, very often at the last minute, it has left us short. How many times? What reasons is it giving? We are being asked why this is happening time and again. What reasons has AstraZeneca given the Minister for the shortfall?

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